Aim
Monitoring (HM) and Exercise Stress Testing (EST), via telehealth, could improve access, reduce costs for all patients as well as closing the gap for Indigenous populations.
Outcomes
The provision of specialist support at the time of the investigation enables the local treating team to make rapid, informed decisions about the next step in the treatment of rural patients.
Patients can now access tests and rapid reporting for Cardiac Investigations closer to home, thereby reducing patient, carer, and family members’ travel time; long travel distances, expenses and time away from work.
In addition to closing the urban-rural disparity in accessing diagnostic investigations, this approach also significantly increased uptake and access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) populations.
Background
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the number one cause of death, with associated morbidity, disability and poor quality of life, resulting in high health care costs. Globally, rural populations are affected by this burden on a greater scale than their urban counterparts.
There are numerous contributing factors to this inequality, with rural populations having higher rates of CVD risk factors including smoking, excessive drinking, hypertension, obesity and physical inactivity. Harsher environmental conditions, social isolation, difficulty sourcing fresh food and lower levels of education, income and employment also contribute.
Driving this issue further is the lack of access that rural populations have to affordable health services, including diagnostic services. Rural areas have difficulty attracting and retaining health professionals, leading to a chronic shortage of physicians, dentists, pharmacists, and non-physician providers.
Due to the scarcity of healthcare specialists and resources in rural areas, rural Australians must either seek healthcare in regional or metropolitan cities, travelling large distances resulting in social dislocation, or forego treatment.
